RFR 270528 Application~1.docx

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services Department of Public Health 250 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02108-4619

RFR: Supporting Health and Medical Coordinating Coalitions- Boston Metro Region

RFR#: 270528

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Organization Information

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AGENCY AFFIRMATIONS FORM

This procurement continues work from RFR 161326, and subsequent procurements under 193926 and 171226 for the Boston Metro Region. The initial procurement in 2016 was for the establishment of six Health and Medical coordinating Coalitions (HMCC), which followed a phased build out and then sustainment. The subsequent RFRs were to finalize the six regional entities to act as host agents for the coalitions.

Affirm the agency’s ability to participate fully in the Supporting Health and Medical Coordinating Coalitions program described in RFR 270528. This RFR was formerly known “Health and Medical Coordinating Coalitions”

Overview Each HMCC will require collaboration among public and private health and medical organizations, organized to prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the impact of an emergency, mass casualty event, or other catastrophic health event. HMCC governance structures, principles of operation, membership composition, and decision-making processes must be established, reviewed annually, and reflect the unique characteristics of the region and be consistent with state guidance.

The work of the HMCC will be supported by a sponsoring organization with dedicated staffing funded under contract with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH). The sponsoring organization will receive and disseminate funding received from DPH as directed by the DPH Office of Preparedness and Emergency Management (OPEM). Allocation of funds will be governed by federal guidance that requires that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) funds be used only for public health preparedness activities consistent with the Public Health Response Readiness Framework. The requirement for local health concurrence with the annual PHEP funding application remains in effect. Similarly, the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) funds may be used only for health care system preparedness activities consistent with Health Care Preparedness and Response Capabilities. In some limited instances, PHEP and HPP funds may be used together to support work on priorities common to both PHEP and HPP, in accordance with grant guidance and requirements. In addition, the sponsoring organization will ensure compliance with the Commonwealth Terms and Conditions and guidance provided in the Grants Management Manual (GMM).

The sponsoring organization must fulfill the following functions to support the HMCC:

· cross-disciplinary planning consistent with the National Incident Management System (NIMS);

· coordination of local and regional planning efforts to ensure alignment;

· provide 24/7/365 coverage and maintain capacity to stand-up an emergency operations center (EOC), real or virtual as determined by the incident, to support regional response and recovery activities;

· support situational awareness and information sharing;

· facilitate resource coordination;

· training and exercise participation and support;

· communications and IT coordination;

· maintain ability to support virtual and/or in-person meeting logistics and coordination;

· provide all necessary programmatic, administrative, and fiscal reporting and coordination to demonstrate local and regional progress and activities as directed by DPH OPEM.

On or before June 30, 2027, the sponsoring organization will also ensure that the personnel employed or contracted with PHEP, HPP, MRC, and HMCC dollars fulfill the deliverables outlined in the BP3 deliverable documents.

REQUIRED STAFFING

The sponsoring organization must ensure dedicated staffing of two full-time equivalent (FTE) staff members to support regional HMCC activities, which will include at a minimum the HMCC Program Manager and the Planning and Operations Coordinator. Any additional sponsoring organization staff employed to achieve the deliverables of the HMCC will be determined by the sponsoring organization and be approved by OPEM prior to posting and hiring or filling the position. This prior approval includes sponsoring organizations utilizing its staff members to fulfill roles identified by entities it is contracted to provide fiscal structure to (e.g., providing coordination or planning services to PHEP coalitions or hospital regions, coordination to Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), or other services to these entities). Such approval will require a detailed scope of service that outlines and clarifies the separate roles of the HMCC sponsoring org staff and the services the sponsoring organization will be providing to the entity. The sponsoring organization must have equipment and capabilities available to be utilized by all FTE staff, to complete all required work either in-person or remotely.

All sponsoring organization staff may not otherwise be directly employed by, volunteer for, or be in a contractual arrangement with an external entity to provide services to any entity within the Region that represents one of the core disciplines or public safety or emergency management. If a candidate for any of the sponsoring organization staff is employed by or under contract to provide services to an entity that represents one of the core disciplines outside the Region, the sponsoring organization must provide a written plan to ensure that the candidate will be available to respond in an emergency affecting the HMCC region.

In the event of an emergency, sponsoring organization staff will fill a cross-discipline coordination role to support development of a common operating picture across the communities and agencies in the region, providing situational awareness, and facilitate resource sharing pursuant to regionally developed plans and procedures. Because of their 24/7/365 coverage responsibilities, the sponsoring organization staff in HMCC roles may not have other incident management or response roles in their region and may not fill a role on an incident command structure when fulfilling a 24/7 role either on standby or during activation for the HMCC. All sponsoring organization staff must be familiar with and agree to adhere to all applicable policies regarding conflict of interest. Each HMCC’s emergency response capability must be able to be stood up and utilized throughout the duration of an emergency or response by the Region, or if requested and directed by DPH OPEM to support another region.

The sponsoring organization will assign a single point of contact with respect to this Scope of Work who will ensure responsiveness to DPH inquiries, timely delivery of reports, services and billing, and who will monitor the quality of deliverables, targets and benchmarks.

FISCAL MANAGEMENT

OPEM provides a GMM to sponsoring organizations. The GMM is designed to provide guidance for HMCC, MRC, HPP, and PHEP program implementation activities. The GMM provides the guidance necessary to support the implementation of programmatic and financial systems in compliance with funding requirements. The Appendices include examples of deliverables, procedures, and forms from DPH OPEM.

The sponsoring organization will be the fiscal agent for the region, which includes supporting the entities within the region with procurement of equipment, supplies, services, and support as it relates to the DPH approved budgets for PHEP, HPP, HMCC, and MRC. These entities will follow their own governance for organization and decision making, which the sponsoring organization will support as noted above. However, the sponsoring organization as the fiscal agent is required to provide fiscal reporting to DPH that is accurate and timely, and to have the proper internal controls to safeguard the integrity of this information. The sponsoring organization is responsible for reviewing, ensuring accuracy of, and compliance with the GMM for all documents submitted to them for approval prior to sending to DPH for approval. The HMCC sponsoring organization is responsible for the contract administration requirements as set forth in the GMM.

All funds received or held for the benefit of the HMCC or HMCC disciplines, including quarterly payments for costs and expenses, shall be segregated by the sponsoring organization, and deposited in one identifiable bank account labeled “HMCC Account”.

PROGRAMMATIC MANAGEMENT

The sponsoring organization will be responsible for programmatic management of emergency preparedness and response activities funded by DPH OPEM in the HMCC region. In addition to the activities required to meet the annual deliverables, the sponsoring organization must:

1. Meet with DPH in-person or virtually regularly during the contract term to review progress and identify challenges or concerns related to overall contract performance.

1. Participate in all regularly scheduled meetings for HMCC sponsoring organization program staff, which will provide an opportunity to receive program updates, obtain technical assistance, communicate challenges, and participate in HMCC development. This includes, but is not limited to, at least one sponsoring organization staff attending in-person meetings when scheduled.

1. Work with the HMCC governing body and DPH OPEM to establish an HMCC budget and Priority Area report for the following budget period and work with DPH OPEM staff to monitor the completion of deliverables and fiscal activities, and provide all required data and reports, including the Quarterly Expense Report, using a submission process and schedule established by DPH OPEM.

1. The sponsoring organization will provide 24/7/365 capacity in the region and the capability to provide situational awareness, load-balancing coordination, and resource allocation support in the event of an emergency affecting the region. The capacity may be in-person or virtual and must include the ability to respond in-person to locations within the Commonwealth if requested by stakeholders or DPH. This includes, but is not limited to, maintaining an emergency notification system (ENS), capable of sending messages by voice, text, and email, as well as a regional duty officer program with primary and secondary personnel to answer pages from stakeholders. The sponsoring organization will ensure any additional staff providing the 24/7 coverage are prepared to provide regional duty officer coverage support, as needed to maintain emergency response capacity.

1. The sponsoring organization will support continuity of operation planning to ensure the HMCC and regional 24/7/365 capacity will remain in-place. This includes, but is not limited to, having critical records, services, and utilities included in any succession and continuity planning.

1. The sponsoring organization, working in collaboration with the HMCC governing body, will conduct outreach to all core discipline organizations to ensure that they are informed about and included in planning activities. The sponsoring organization will work with OPEM to maintain current 24/7 contact information for all HMCC stakeholders in the region. This will be documented via tools or templates directed by DPH.

1. The sponsoring organization will build upon relationships, partnerships and regional agreements.

1. The sponsoring organization will provide information to DPH OPEM as requested.

Affirm the agency ability to comply with changes to the program as deemed necessary by DPH.

I affirm that I will comply with the requirements of Request for Response: 270528 Health and Medical Coordinating Coalitions and with the terms of this proposal.

Authorized Signatory:

First Name: _________________________ Last Name: ________________________________________

Title: _______________________________ Agency Name: ______________________________________

Authorized Signature for the Applicant Organization :